Monday, October 31, 2016

An Iraqi Army Aviation Bell IA-407 belonging to 21st Armed Reconnaissance Squadron crashed in Mukeshefah area North of Samarra at 140 km north of Baghdad on Saturday 29 October. The two crew members, pilot Hussein Ali Kadhim and First Lieutenant Ali Hafez were killed. This is the fifth Bell IA-407 lost in more than two years. One was captured at al-Mosul when Islamic States militants have taken the base on 9 June 2014. On 8 October 2014, Capt Haidar Hamad Jaber and Capt Yazan Mohammed Abdel-Rahman al-Lami were KIA when their helicopter was shot down by FN-6 MANPADS near Baiji during support mission for a Mi-17. On 28 September 2015, Bell IA-407 serial number 'YI-125' was hit by ground fire and crash-landed west of COB Speicher. The crew was rescued by an EC635. On 17 February 2016, Maj Ahmed Nehru and 1st Lt Oumid were KIA when their helicopter was shot down near Amiriyat Al-Fallujah.

Update 4 Nov. 2016 : according to my colleague Marco Dijkshoorn, this Bell IA-407 was serial number 'YI-137' and may have belonged to 22nd Armed Reconnaissance Squadron, not 21st.

Thursday, October 6, 2016

While merciless - frequently intentional - bombardment by Assadist and Russian air forces in Syria, which is causing dozens of civilian casualties every day, is finally catching public attention in the West, there are now reports about similar attacks being flown in Libya too. Contrary to Syria, where it is crystal clear who is flying such air strikes, the situation in Libya is quite murky.

On 20 September 2016, unidentified aircraft struck a leisure park at Nina Agricultural Project in Sokna, in Al-Jufrah district, 200 kilometres (125 miles) south of Sirte, killing at least seven people and injuring up to twenty others. The two armed factions, the Libyan National Army (LNA) and militia forces affiliated to the Government of National Accord (GNA), denied involvement and accused each others of the strike.

Saturday, October 1, 2016

Two major events can be noticed during this period : the loss of Libyan National Army Air Force (LNA / AF) Mi-8T serial number '1432' (with three crew members and three passenger killed) and the death of civilian in an airstrike near al Jufrah by unidentified aircrafts.